Comparative Shiʿi Theology

Analysis and Evaluation of the Approach to Reason from the Perspective of Allamah Majlisī and the Tafkīk School

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Ali Ghadrdan Gharamaleki

Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Theology, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/jcst.2026.89597.1271
Abstract
The question of reason and its functioning in religious knowledge is among the disputed topics in Islamic thought. Given the emphasis of the tafkik (separation) school on transmissionism and its minimal or negative approach to the role of reason in understanding religion, this study seeks—by analyzing the method of Allameh Majlisi, who is known for transmissionism, in his engagement with reason and by comparing it with the tafkik perspective—to clarify the degree of consonance or distinction between these two approaches. Therefore, the main research question, which is theoretical and problem-centered, is what the method of engaging with reason is from the viewpoints of Allameh Majlisi and the tafkik school, and what their points of agreement and difference are. The study’s data were obtained through library research and analysis of these thinkers’ works, and by rational and textual evaluation of the data it became clear that Allameh Majlisi adopted an affirmative approach to reason as one of the human faculties and was receptive to rational perceptions, whereas the tafkikis, with various approaches, either do not accept such rational cognitions or consider them to have no function in religious knowledge. This research shows that Allameh Majlisi and the tafkikis have a fundamental disagreement in their approach to reason and that their views are not close to one another. It also finds that the tafkiki method of engaging with reason faces multiple objections and that their view appears incorrect.

Keywords

Approach to Reason
Allamah Majlisī
Tafkīk School
Methodology of Allamah Majlisī
Methodology of the Tafkīk School
Subjects
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Comparative Shiʿi Theology
Volume 6, Issue 11
September 2026
Pages 259-292

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